Women's Leadership Summit: Slide Show

NAFCU's inaugural Women's Leadership Summit was a highlight of the trade group's annual conference and trade show held the last week of July in Nashville, Tenn. Below are some photo highlights of the summit. Among the hot topics: Negotiating and growing opportunities for female executives.

Burns-Fazzi, Brock commissioned a study from Clark & Chase Research, which found that the average compensation for female top executives was about 18% lower than their male counterparts in credit unions with more than $335 million in assets. Jack Clark, pictured here, presented the results during the Women’s Leadership Summit at NAFCU’s annual conference on July 24.

Credit unions ranging from $75 million to $335 million in assets, however, appear to earn more than their male counterparts. The education level was also more comparable at this asset size as well, which may have contributed to the results, according to Clark.

Networking is crucial to women stepping up in the workplace, so Nan Siemer, principal of Breakers consulting firm, provided five networking tips for the attendees of the summit.

Link in to LinkedIn

Make time to maintain

Take and give

Compile a contact list

Your network is everyone you know

Credit Union Times Editor-in-Chief Sarah Snell Cooke explained, using her great-grandmother’s costume shop as an example, the importance of understanding the women who came before us, and how many more options we have today. Cooke noted that McKinsey & Co., a firm that supports women professionals’ promotion in the workplace, found that one-fifth of the working-age population will be at least 65 by 2016, leaving a huge opportunity for younger, female executives to step into.

NIH FCU President/CEO Juli Ann Callis, one of CU Times’Women to Watch, talked about her experiences as female executive in professions where women traditionally “don’t belong,” as one oceanography professor told her.

Creativity ruled the day in the deals made during a workshop led by Nan Siemer, principal of Breakers consulting firm, at the Women’s Leadership Summit. She shared her top ten tips for negotiating and provided the women with items to negotiate for during her workshop.

Negotiate on worth, not need

Think of negotiating more as bargaining

Don’t show all your cards

Be selfish

Ask

The rainbow outweighs the pot of gold (what do you want other than money?)

Research required

Negotiating means you have to have the ability to walk away

Shoot for the stars before you consider compromising

Everything is negotiable

A little bit of flair in presentation might help make this small object loom a little larger at the negotiating table as participants polished their bargaining skills.

These students of negotiating listened closely as they put into action the tips they were just provided on the art of the deal.